Alonso Set to Replace Ancelotti as Real Madrid Boss

Posted on by footybet
Alonso and Ancelotti
Alonso (Credit DONOSTIA KULTURA) and Ancelotti (Credit Светлана Бекетова)

As the 2024/25 football season nears its conclusion, Carlo Ancelotti, one of the greatest managers of all time, is set to leave Real Madrid and take up the role of head coach of Brazil. His replacement will be Xabi Alonso, who led Bayer Leverkusen to the league and cup double last season. The change of head coach at Madrid marks the changing of the guard, as Alonso is one of the best young managers around at the moment, and that’s according to the man he’ll replace.

In this article, we’ll take a look back at Ancelotti’s illustrious managerial career to date, and consider how he will get on in his new job. We’ll also look ahead to assess the prospect that Alonso will bring success to the club at which he won plenty of silverware (including the Champions League) as a player.

The Glittering Career of Carlo Ancelotti


Carlo Ancelotti was a very decent player, winning Italy’s Serie A title three times (once with Roma and twice with AC Milan), as well as two European Cups (both with Milan) and several other trophies. He wasn’t far off winning a World Cup with Italy on home soil in 1990 either, losing on penalties to Argentina in the semis (and then beating England in the third-place play-off).

Early Days as a Manager

But if his playing career was successful, Ancelotti has taken things to another level as a coach. Starting out as boss of Serie B side Reggiana in 1995, he led them straight to the top flight in his first season as a manager. That earned him the Parma job, and he led them to a second-place finish and a place in the Champions League. After finishing sixth in the 1997/98 campaign, Ancelotti was sacked, but the following February he was appointed as the head coach of Juventus.

Perhaps surprisingly, given the players at his disposal (including the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Alessandro Del Piero and Antonio Conte), the only thing Ancelotti won during his time at Juve was the Intertoto Cup (in 1999). However, things got much better in his next job, from a silverware perspective.

Time for Trophies

He joined AC Milan in November 2001 and over the next eight and a half years, he won the Serie A title (2003/04), the Coppa Italia (2002/03), the Supercoppa Italiana (2004), the Champions League twice (2002/03 and 2006/07), the UEFA Super Cup twice (2003 and 2007) and the FIFA Club World Cup (2007). He then decided it might be nice to try his hand in the Premier League and promptly won the Premier League and FA Cup double with Chelsea, the first time the club had achieved that feat.

The Real Deal

After a sojourn in France where he won Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain, Ancelotti joined Real Madrid for the first of his two stints there. He didn’t manage to win the Spanish title at this stage, but the Italian led Real to glory in the Copa Del Rey and the Champions League in 2013/14. That latter success was the fabled Decima, as the club finally won their 10th CL title. Ancelotti then followed up with wins in the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.

Germany beckoned next as the Italian spread his wings once more. This time he won the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich, but soon he was on the move again. After impressive but trophyless spells at Napoli and then Everton, Ancelotti returned to the Spanish capital in June 2021 to become Real’s head coach for the second time. This time he won La Liga twice (2021/22 and 2023/24), the Copa Del Rey (2022/23), two more Champions Leagues (2021/22 and 2023/24), two more UEFA Super Cups (2022 and 2024), and another FIFA Club World Cup (2022). He also added a FIFA Intercontinental Cup for good measure (2024).

With five Champions League victories in the bag, he’s the most successful manager in that competition ever, and he’s also the only boss to have top-flight titles in all five of the best leagues in Europe: Spain, Italy, France, Germany and England. In other words, he’s going to be a very tough act to follow for Alonso. And the next stop for Ancelotti? From the end of May he is going to be the head coach of the Brazilian national side, which will make it even more difficult than usual for any other country to win the World Cup in 2026!

Will Alonso Be a Success at Real Madrid?


The yardstick for measuring success at Real Madrid is different to that of almost any other club. After all, they’ve won more La Liga titles than any other side (36, to Barcelona’s 27 at the time of writing), and more European Cups/Champions Leagues than any other (15 to date, with Milan the next best with seven, and Bayern Munich and Liverpool on six each). Failure to win the league title or the Champions League (and ideally both) would be viewed by the club as just that: failure. If a manager can win one or both and perhaps one or two other trophies as well, they could be viewed as doing well enough to stick around.

One thing that could work in Alonso’s favour is that, by their ludicrously high standards, Real haven’t had a great season. After losing 4-3 to Barcelona on 11th May, it looks almost certain the Catalans will claim the title. Los Blancos also lost in the final of both the Copa Del Rey and the Supercopa de Espana and were knocked out at the quarter-final stage of the Champions League by Arsenal. Okay, they won the Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup, as mentioned, but neither is high on Real’s list of priorities. So if Alonso wins one or more of the bigger prizes in his first years in charge, he should endear himself to the fans and owners alike.

Of course, whether Alonso will be a success in Madrid remains to be seen. There are so many variables that could affect the outcome of crucial games along the way. But on the evidence of his time in Germany, Alonso appears to have the tactical nous and temperament to have as good a chance of anyone of living up to Real Madrid’s expectations.